Bush aides reboot Iraq war negotiations (reboot?)

[babylonsister]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070503/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq;_ylt=A0WTcU6IVDpGI_0AVAWs0NUE

Bush aides reboot Iraq war negotiations

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago

WASHINGTON -
President Bush's top aides restarted negotiations with Democrats Thursday in a quest to find bipartisan consensus on how to bankroll the protracted war in Iraq.

No deal was immediately struck and lawmakers said they planned to continue discussions early next week.

"There is nothing off the table — including timetables" to end the war, reported Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record). "Nothing."

The round of meetings came after Bush vetoed $124.2 billion legislation that would have funded war in Iraq — and Afghanistan as well — but also would have ordered troops to begin coming home Oct. 1.

Democrats said they were acting on a mandate from voters to end the war. But they did not have the necessary two-thirds majority to override Bush's veto, so now they're having to rethink their approach.

In a closed-door meeting Thursday with members, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., echoed Reid's remark that Democrats have not agreed to drop language on troop withdrawals. Pelosi and Reid are trying to reassure more liberal members of their caucus that Democrats were not backing down. But privately, several Democrats have signaled they intend to do so to avoid a second veto and plan to focus their attention instead on upcoming spending bills.

more...

[jimshoes]

1. If chimpy doesn't want to look like

the scrooge who denied the money to the troops, he'll sign the bill soon enough. Please Dems, don't change the wording one bit.